Olympians Outrun Owls, Bag First Win in HHC Track-Meet

Columbus East 49, Seymour 34 — Football

Columbus East turned Bulleit Stadium into a Friday night sprint relay, bolting to touchdowns on all five first-half possessions and never surrendering the baton in a high-tempo 49–34 Hoosier Hills opener. The Owls drew first hoot with a 60-yard dash from Everett Jackson, but the Olympians countered like seasoned sprinters off the curve, stacking scores from every lane of the play sheet.

Quarterback Kyson Villarreal orchestrated a balanced fast break, completing 13 of 17 for 218 yards and three touchdowns while tucking twice for short scoring keepers. Running back JD Rotert turned limited carries into maximum podiums: eight rushes for 53 yards and two ground scores plus a receiving TD hat trick. On the edges, Keaton Lawson and Paxton Thompson snagged late-second-quarter TDs to make it 35–13 at the interval.

Seymour refused to flap away, winning an onside kick to start the third and answering with points, but East’s response was a championship split: a short field, a bruising Rotert 15-yard TD, and a closing Villarreal keeper to ice the final lap. The defense produced a pivotal first-half fumble recovery—Mykel Jones pounced—to set the tone in the trenches. East (1–2, 1–0 HHC) packs the bus for Jennings County next week with the stride lengthening.

Olympians leaders: Villarreal 13-17, 218 yds, 3 TD; 9-32, 2 rush TD. Rotert 8-53, 2 rush TD; receiving TD. Lawson 3-78, TD.
Owls highlights: Traysean Hawkins 21-124, TD; Alexx Milliken 2 TD catches.